Snow Day Prophet Free Ableton Live Pack #139 and Five Years of Live Packs!

Five years ago today, I decided to release my very first Free Ableton Live Pack. Little did I know, that decision would lead me down the path I am currently on. That decision is the reason you are here today. It's pretty amazing to think that one small choice can choice can lead to a world of opportunities. As I reflect on the last five years, I'll write a little more on that topic, but right now, I just want to say thanks for being here, whether this is your first visit or you were there from the start. Thanks!

The "Snow Day" Prophet Free Ableton Live Instruments

I thought this particular set of instruments would be perfect for a five year celebration, because it is the result of a simple decision. Back in January, the East Coast of the United States was virtually paralyzed by a heavy snow storm. Here in New York, we got about two feet of snow. Almost everything was closed. I almost spent the day watching Netflix and veggie out, but instead I decided to spend the day making music. Listen to the result of that day's work below, in a track appropriately titled "Snow Day."

Normally I encourage people to go into studio sessions with a plan, so they can avoid decision paralysis. You probably know the scenario: you're ready to make music and wind up spending two hours just searching for the best kick drum sample out of 9000 options. In today's world, I think it is important to set boundaries and limitation so we don't get caught in a nearly endless sea of options. Here's a little more on that topic.

"Snow Day" was conceived with only a little bit of a plan. I knew I wanted to play live drums, some acoustic guitar, electric bass, and make use of a relatively new purchase, a lap steel slide guitar.I didn't have much more than that. But just having those plans in place narrowed down a lot of choices and allowed me to move forward. Also, I had four microphones on my drums, and those mics were running through the mixer on my 8 track tape machine. I sent the stereo out of the tape machine to my audio interface to record the drums, which meant that I was stuck with the mix of the drums as soon as I recorded them. No way to adjust the relative volume of the mics, which meant one less thing to tinker with.

After the basic tracks were recorded, I felt it needed something else to sort of glue the instruments together. I turned towards my trusty Sequential Circuits Prophet 6 analog synth and built an electric piano type sound. I used that sound to create this Free Ableton Live Pack. I sampled the patch twice, once with the low pass filter wide open and again with the filter about half way closed. I think it's a really nice sound that will fit into all kinds of styles of production. Download it below and enjoy!!

Free Ableton Live Pack #139: Snow Day Prophet

2 multi-sampled Ableton Live Instrument Racks, created from samples of the Prophet 6 patch used in the track "Snow Day."

Need More of the Prophet 6? Get the Prophets of Doom Ableton Live Pack!

Sequential Circuits' Prophet 6 is one of the coolest synths on the market right now. It's a 6 voice polyphonic analog synthesizer, that's the perfect combination of the stuff that makes vintage synths sound so nice, balanced with the best aspects of modern technology. It is immediately inspiring and I can't say enough good things about it.

I spent a good amount of time programming my own patches and sampling them into Ableton Live. Live allows me to take the Prophet to new levels, adding effects and building those rich sounds into complex and exciting instrument racks. Check out the video below and get the full collection!

AfroDJMac is the work of Brian Funk, a New York-based musician, producer, and Ableton Certified Trainer. He's a writer, podcaster, and curious sound designer who loves to share his knowledge about music production and the creative process.